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Police officers in Bihar are up in arms over the suspension of 11 Station House Officers for not enforcing the liquor ban in the state.
Bihar Police Association general secretary Murtunjay Kumar Singh said, "Nearly 250 SHOs of different police stations across the state have already informed their Superintendents of Police that they would not like to continue on their posts in view of suspension of 11 of their colleagues for their reported failure to check and control the manufacture of illicit country-made liquor in areas within their jurisdiction."
The association has described the suspension as an act that will demoralise police officials who have been working hard to implement the liquor ban.
For the first time, the police officers have issued an ultimatum to the their superiors to withdraw the suspension or they would be forced to launch an agitation.
"If the suspension is not revoked by August 28, around 21,000 officers from assistant sub inspector to inspector rank will go on a week-long mass leave," Singh said.
Over 1.5 lakh litres of banned liquor -- 96,878.66 litres of country-made liquor, 52,530.446 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and 13,153 litres of spirit -- have been recovered within four months, something that could not have been possible without the alertness displayed by the police officers, Singh claimed, adding that instead of rewarding the officers, the state government was punishing them.
However, the police top brass has defended the suspension.
"Despite the liquor ban being in place for the last four months, these SHOs did not take any step to crack down on the manufacture of illicit country-made liquor in their respective jurisdiction. That is why they were suspended,” Additional Director General of Police Sunil Kumar said.
Kumar said the suspended SHOs would not be made in charge of any police station for the next 10 years.
The officer also informed that 4,707 people have been arrested and and 3,719 FIRs lodged since the ban was enforced.